So it has been a little more than a month since I came back from Gabon. During my time there I had one of the most incredible experiences in my life, Iboga.

I cannot say that I had any specific reasons for seeking out Iboga beforehand, it was mostly out of curiosity and the only way I can describe it is as if some kind of other force helped me on the way. Before I went to Gabon I was a bit anxious. Since I don’t have any problems and I consider myself to be a very balanced person, I wondered “why fix anything that isn’t broken?” But as I learned from the holy Wood, just wanting to have a fun is probably the best motive there is. Iboga is not just about fixing, it is also about celebrating.

In Gabon I met up with Tatayo at the Ebando organization, near Libreville. Tatayo is fantastic; he’s a magician, a poet and the funniest man I’ve ever met. Moving to Gabon from France, about 30 years ago he has been doing Bwiti initiations for at least 15 years. He is like father to me now .

At Ebando, the initiation itself is a weeklong process of catharsis, doing different baths and cleaning the body. You pray, you say your intentions and confess your sins to the spirit. Then it is time for the big day. I was able to try a small amount of Iboga before I did my initiation. It was just a spoonful, about 10-15 ml of powdered bark, for me that is equivalent to 1-2 g of good cubensis, but much longer in duration. At the initiation day (or night, although I did it in the day) you should eat a lot more than that. I was told to aim for 20-25 spoonfuls (!) but I was only able to get down 13, it tastes horrible, and I didn’t want to puke everything up immediately. I also did an enema with Iboga tea a little later, just to push over the line.

A Bwiti initiation is a feast. The whole tribe gathers around the initiate and plays music and dance. The noise is overwhelming and I really believe it helps you cross over. I was shaking my Soké (a kind of penis-shaped maracas) when I felt the Iboga setting in. As I lay down my mind started to wander. Suddenly a woman appears in front of my eyes, it is a deep purple vision. Extremely strong, almost on par with Ayahuasca, it is one of the strongest visions in terms of color that I get during the initiation. Next I see a strong white light and I follow it (“don’t follow the light in the end of the tunnel, dumbass!”) and it explodes in my head, I mean really explodes – very orgasmic. A deep and soul rattling journey through the bottoms of my mind commence.

For me Iboga is the most powerful teacher I could not even imagine. It tells you anything you ask to know. Big doses are definitely nothing to be afraid of, and according to the shamans in Gabon there’s no toxicity to it. At least for me it does not feel toxic at all, on the contrary. In small doses I believe Iboga is great for astral magic. It can really open the third eye, and let you explore and alter the visions as you like. However, the visuals are not as clourful as with DMT or other tryptamines and much subtler. I know many people don’t even notice the visuals with Iboga. But as some of my visuals were really strong it seems to point to that maybe there is a deeper level at 20-30 spoonfuls away. Another thing with Iboga is that it is so extremely psychedelic and introspective. While tryptamines take you to outer space, Iboga takes you to the inner space.

I had asked the Iboga spirit to show me love, magic and ecstasy. I was given all three. I really understood that I am living my life as I want to and I am the person that I want to be. I felt love for myself as in a way I had forgotten. Iboga can really take me back into that natural state that I once had in my childhood.

As I go deeper into myself I meet a man living in my brain. He is a small dwarf working in a kind of control room with lots of buttons and panels, close to the amygdalae. He is responsible for me forgetting dreams so easily. He locks up my dreams. I throw him out of the control room and destroy the door to it, so that he cannot lock them up anymore. Here is the funny thing, it worked! I really remember my dreams more easily now and I constantly keep remembering dreams that I’ve had a long time ago, even years back.

I met other spirits too, one is a cat. It is a small domestic cat, very cute but a bit unruly. She keeps joking with me and I can’t stop laughing. Afterwards I have felt the presence of a cat animal, but more of a big animal like a tiger. It is not the first time that I pick up spirits in a journey and they can really be helpful, appearing when you need them the most. I a few days after the initiation I also found a small toy in the shape of a tiger on the beach.

One of the most lasting teachings that I was given was the understanding of magic. I am talking about real occult knowledge (magick, sorcery, wood-oo…) I learned that it is all a big mind trick and being a magician is about believing. This is the difficult part though, believing in something that seems so obviously untrue. Rituals and belief systems are there to make you believe, but a powerful magician can choose to believe in anything. I was also told of a way to cast enchantments, by using toys or the hands, playing the scene you will to happen.

The trip itself lasts for about 15 hours? But I felt very odd for a couple of days afterwards and it really took me three days before I was in my normal state again. I must say that I feel really good now though. Iboga stays with you for a long time and this is an ally you want to keep close.

It is like silk.


Hasta el victoria, siempre!
/Dibenga

Wow! Fantastic read, Thank you so much for Sharing! I did not realize such trips to Gabon were possible, what tribe of people or tribal region were you in? How did you find the trip itself as far as travel and accommodations?

Thank you so much for posting this, I am more then curious, this magic has been calling my name for some time now.
-shaman

Hi shaman!

They certainly are. I was with the Ebando organization. Their initiations are a mixture of different Bwiti tribes (like Disumba and Missoko, I believe) the story behind it is an incredible one of true magic, but it's not mine to tell. Anyway, for example they use both the harp (the instrument of the north?) and the mogongo (the instrument of the south?) during the initiations. If you go as a westerner to Gabon, I'd really recommend going with Ebando. Tatayo (the Nganga) is originally French but he speaks great English and he's a fantastic guy with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Check out their website and ask me if there is anything you want to know about the details.

As far as Gabon is concerned, I didn't travel around the country too much. It is a bit expensive, compared to other countries in the region. However, it is safe and politically stable. They have a lot of rain forest and wild animals, like gorillas and elephants. They also got great beaches and strong weed. If it's the first time traveling in Africa, Gabon is a good starting point I think.

that was a great report!

Amazing experience. I am awed by the healing power of this magical plant. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for that link , I really am interested , so I may take you up on the extra details one day soon. The images and videos were great to watch and the place looks fascinating! I recognize some of the Art in the videos and images on that web site , which makes me happy. I have studied this regions Tribal arts for nearly 20 years , so I already have a small idea of their beliefs ( at least as textbooks go) This plant and its influence over a vast area of central Africa has intrigued me for so long. Their art and spirituality speaks to me , and calls to me , and so... I really wish to understand.
Thank you my friend for showing me the way~

Thanks for all the kind words.

shaman, I agree that the art is wondeful. I really think that this "naive art", or whatever you want to call it, taps into the true essence of artistic expression. If you go to Gabon you'll be amazed by some of the wood carvings. However my experience is that in Africa, unfortunatly the "original" spirituality is disappearing in favor for Christianity, alcohol and expensive cars.

Thanks man for this amazing and empowering report! Very interesting to hear of an experience in Iboga's realm in Gabon. It has been on my mind to go out there and hook up with Tatayo and be initiated. Following your encounter with him and your experience, I think this is something I will be experiencing in the future. It's great to hear of people having such positive experiences with this plant, I hope it goes some way to dispelling some of the fear that seems to shroud it. Thanks for sharing!

Wonderful report. Iboga is one of the few plants that really calls to me that I haven't had the opportunity to partake of yet. It sounds like powerful stuff.

I would like to clarify one point though:



That depends on how big of a dose you're talking. The sort of doses you took don't appear to be very dangerous... assuming roughly 7 grams per spoonful, the larger initiation dose would have been in the neighborhood of somewhere under 100 grams (for the 13 spoonfuls you took) or 175 grams for the recommended 25 spoonfuls. However, many groups take between 300-1000 grams during the initiation (the higher end of that spectrum containing as much as 6 grams of ibogaine, not to mention lesser quantities of voacangine, taberanthine, and ibogamine), and these doses can occasionally result in death (usually among people of lower body weight; women and young initiates). Between 1940 and 1980, there were about a dozen deaths that resulted in charges of manslaughter or murder being brought against sect leaders. That instances of initiate death have been commented on in virtually all sects is noted by the anthropologist James Fernandez in Peter Furst's Flesh of the Gods.

So while the sort of dose that you took can be reasonably be consumed safely, the people who told you that there was absolutely no toxicity to it were almost certainly aware of the occasional death-by-overdose and had adjusted their dosages lower to avoid it.

Thank you Entropymancer for pointing that out. You are most certainly correct in what you are saying.

When I say a big dose I mean a "dedicated" dose. Iboga is definitely nothing to fool around with and it has a different profile than other psychedelics. However, I don't believe that it is nearly as toxic as some would suggest but that is just a feeling that I have. People have died and it's very wise to be cautious.

Also, I have no idea how much a spoonful weighs. I think 7g might be a bit on the high side, does anyone know how much 10 ml of bark is?

great story, owlman. I think it's inevitable that I go to Gabon and do a proper initiation someday. I agree with you on how benign iboga is... there were zero toxic or poisoned feelings in my flood.

A size 0 capsule (0.68 ml) holds about 300 mg of powdered bark.

It looks like especially when it comes to visuals, the sensitivity for iboga among people varies enormously. I had quite strong visual activity at only 5 grams, like an object that suddenly seemed to have reptilian scales, or ancient cavepainting-like images that appeared in front of me like a flickering light or the reflection of the sun on the water, while i have read reports of people saying they experienced little visual activity with amounts over 10 grams.
Maybe experience plays a role. People who're experienced with psychedelic's may be more 'open' to iboga visions. But it's remarkable nevertheless.

Ok, thanks ouro. So that makes a spoonful of 10-15 ml being somewhere about 4-7 g. Good to know.



Yeah, I think that is the key...